Nashville is adding another new face for season.
Undateable grad Bridgit Mendler has landed a recurring role on the upcoming fifth season of the country music drama, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Mendler will play Ashley Wilkenson, an internet sensation with 30 million viewers who is about to record her first album. Sexy, self-assured and stubborn, Ashley is extremely talented. But underneath her certainty is a well of vulnerability.
Mendler first rose to fame on the Disney Channel, first recurring on Wizards of Waverly Place before going onto star in the sitcom Good Luck Charlie. Her other credits include the NBC comedy Undateable, House and Muppets Most Wanted.
In addition to her acting career, Mendler is known for her musical talents. She released her first studio album, Hello My Name Is… in 2012 and is getting ready to release a new EP, Nemesis, on Nov. 18. She is repped by Gersh.
Mendler is one of several new additions coming to Nashville. Looking star Murray Bartlett, Legends of Tomorrow alum Joseph David-Jones, Jen Richards (I Am Cait) and Grammy winner Rhiannon Giddens of the group Carolina Chocolate Drops are also set to recur on the upcoming fifth season.
They come to the ensemble following the exits of former series regulars Will Chase and Aubrey Peeples. The upcoming fifth season marks the country music drama’s first on CMT, following four seasons on ABC. CMT and Hulu, which will stream episodes the day after they air, joined forces to resurrect the series in June, one month after it was canceled by ABC.
Nashville, which is co-produced by Lionsgate, ABC Studios and Opry Entertainment, also will welcome new showrunners this season in Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick (thirtysomething, My So-Called Life).
Nashville returns with a two-hour premiere on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 9 p.m. on CMT.
